Chukwu said research had shown that many cancer cases recorded in Niger Delta were as a result of years of environmental degradation.
Represented by the Director, Chemical and Climate Change Department in the ministry, Mr. Chris Ojembe, the minister said air and water borne diseases could also be reduced if local methods of cleaning the environment were developed.
He said, “The Federal Government is committed to the clean-up of oil spills in the Niger Delta. Our aim is to reduce cancer-related diseases in the region because research has shown that most cancer cases in the area are as a result of the environmental degradation.”
Earlier, the leader of the US Alumni Engagement Innovation Team, Dr. Morufat Balogun, advocated the use of a local plant kenaf in the clean-up of environments ravaged by oil spills.
She said the plant grown in the northern part of the country was environmental- friendly and could help in tackling the problem of oil spills in the Niger Delta.
Balogun, who lectures at the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, said kenaf could be used as an absorbent material in cleaning oil spills.
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